As a business owner, determining when to make employee payments can be tough.
Many employees prefer to be paid as often as possible, but making more frequent payments to your employees can cost you more than the alternative.
To make matters even more complicated, there are various federal and state regulations that dictate how and when you pay your employees.
If you need a little help choosing a pay period for your employees, you’re in the right place! Keep reading to learn more.
Your Options with Employee Payments
Pay period regulations vary by state, but there are four lengths of time to choose from. There are positives and negatives associated with each, but the four common choices for pay periods are:
Weekly
Employees paid weekly receive a paycheck on the same day of the week, such as every Friday, for the hours they complete in the previous week. These employees receive 52 paychecks a year.
Biweekly
A biweekly employee will be paid every other week. The amount will be for the two weeks prior, or the two weeks before that. This type of payment plan will result in 26 paychecks a year.
Semimonthly
This may sound the same as biweekly, but there is a subtle difference. With biweekly paychecks, your employees will be paid every other week, regardless of the date. Semimonthly pay periods are two set days a month, such as the first and the 15th. Employees on this plan will get 24 paychecks a year.
Monthly
Employees receiving monthly paychecks will get 12 a year, often on the last day of the month (paid for the 4 weeks previous) or the first day of the following month.
Pay Frequency Laws
While there are a handful of states that have no specific employee payment laws, most have regulations in place that mandate how often you should pay your staff. Now, you will still have some flexibility with payments, as you can never pay your employees too often.
For example, if your state requires that you pay your employees at least semimonthly, this means you can also choose biweekly, weekly, or even more often if you prefer.
Payroll Services
With everything you no doubt have on your plate as a business owner, it can be beneficial to get help with time-consuming tasks like payroll. There are a few options with this. You can outsource the entire process to another company, or you can use tools such as a paystub generator to make the job easier for you.
If you do decide to outsource, be sure to ask about any other services they offer. You never know, you might be able to decrease your workload, giving you more time to focus on the parts of your business that only you can handle.
Make Paying Employees Easier with This Guide
As a business owner, you have a million things to worry about on a daily basis. With this guide, choosing the frequency of your employee payments should be one you can cross off the list.
Remember, the goal is to keep your employees happy while choosing an option that benefits you and is within the bounds of your state’s laws.
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